Platforms like GoFundMe, reddit grief communities, mutual aid networks, real-time disaster storytelling, and global uprisings in reaction to systemic inequality are demonstrative, real world examples that connectivity breeds empathy and unity. The work of Taiwan’s digital minister Audrey Tang during the COVID-19 pandemic — quickly using the... See more
The difference with a concrete community of moral calling is that it, at the very least, forces us out of our own individuality in order to learn how to reckon with others. At its best, it calls us to be better than we are.
Understanding this distinction helps us recognize that self-acceptance, self-worth, and the common good depend not on indulging our proclivities or tastes but on growing together with our neighbours into better people.
The size of the effect is astounding. Cross-class friendships are a better predictor of upward mobility than school quality, job availability, community cohesion or family structure. If these results are true, then we have largely ignored a powerful way to help people realise the American dream.
The great harmony of community isn’t when everyone has equal everything. It’s when responsibility, investment, stake, and trust are aligned. You want the people who are most invested, most trusted, and most accountable to be taking on more responsibility and more decisions. You want people to feel empowered to make decisions without everyone’s... See more
The next wave of big consumer companies will be community-based products:
- Niche, not everything to everyone
- Unique aesthetic
- Built-in community
- More memorable than big platforms
- Rewarding loyalty
- Unbundling large platforms
-... See more